AVK unveils new service hub in Netherlands for data centres

AVK has announced a new service hub in Lelystad, Netherlands, as part of its strategy to bolster its European operations.

The location near Amsterdam marks AVK's effort to decentralise from its UK base and establish a more robust presence in Europe, specifically tailored to the needs of data centres.

Lynsey Partlow, Service Director at AVK, highlighted the significance of expanding operations across Europe due to the increasing number of data centres. "For several years, AVK has been expanding its service operations across European territories as a reflection of the significant number of new data centres that have been created. From this summer, we expect to see a lot more data centres commissioned and going live throughout the region, and it is essential that AVK has an active in-country service footprint that enables us to support our partners proactively as they grow," she stated.

The Lelystad hub will feature warehousing, critical spares, and administrative facilities. Recruitment is already underway for personnel, including a European Service Manager. AVK plans to continue its expansion with a new hub in Frankfurt later this year and has plans for additional locations.

"Setting up these strategic service hubs will help us enormously with our supply chains, our relationships with clients and our field delivery," added Lynsey Partlow. "Instead of locally-based staff relying on our service infrastructure in the UK, having a European infrastructure will make a massive difference to how we support the increasing numbers of customers setting up new data centres across the continent."

The investment in these hubs also reflects AVK's commitment to operational excellence and aligns with its goal of rolling out its Academy programme that aims to train and develop new engineers. These academies serve as training hubs for future specialists in data centre operations.

Partlow also mentioned upcoming projects for the company, including services related to selective catalytic reduction systems, which mitigate emissions from backup generators in data centres. "Looking even further ahead, Lynsey reveals several additional developments in the pipeline for AVK. For example, AVK technicians are to carry out the service and maintenance of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems that the company installs in data centres to minimise harmful emissions from diesel-powered backup generators."

The addition of the Netherlands hub follows AVK's existing operations in Dublin, Ireland, and embodies their strategy to achieve closer operational proximity to European clients, optimising service delivery in the rapidly expanding data centre market.